Nkrumah towered over Mandela; comparison “useless” – KB Asante

Retired Ghanaian Diplomat, K B Asante has described as “useless”, the comparison of Nelson Mandela to Kwame Nkrumah.

“Mandela was a great man so far as South Africa was concerned and in many other respects, but Nkrumah was great in another respect and I don’t think you can directly compare them. It’s a useless comparison but when you think of Nkrumah as a pan-African leader, I don’t think he has any equal at the moment”, the former Ambassador told XYZ Breakfast Show Host Moro Awudu Thursday.

He said: “We should not compare things we should not be comparing”.

According to him, Nkrumah towers above Mandela thus rendering the comparison flawed.

The debate started after US President Barack Obama described the late South African President and anti-apartheid leader as the “Greatest African Liberator of the 20th Century”.

Mandela was jailed 27 years by South Africa’s racist apartheid Government but became his country’s first black president after his release.

He reconciled the black impoverished majority with the white rich minority to form a rainbow country and also forgave the apartheid Government for incarcerating him and also subjecting black South Africans to dehumanising treatment.

Mandela also voluntarily stepped down after just one term in office despite calls on him run for another term.

Nkrumah on the other hand blazed the trail for African emancipation after leading Ghana to gain independence from Britain.

He fought for African unity by proposing the creation of a United States of Africa.

He also led a radical pan-Africanist movement toward securing economic, mental and political freedom for the African Continent. He has been voted as the African of the Millennium.